Bottle Shock

Starring: Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Bill Pullman, Rachael Taylor

Bottle shock is based on a true story, Jim and Bo Barrett and was a great movie. It was cowritten by husband-and-wife team Randall Miller and Jody Savin, who did a remarkable job given that they were working with a very small budget.

Every wino should own this DVD! Purchase Bottle Shock on Amazon.

Bottle shock describes what can happen to wine as it travels from place to place. Set in 1976, Randall Miller’s widescreen docudrama concerns the real-life showdown between California’s wineries and their French counterparts. Napa Valley’s Jim Barrett (Lost Highway’s Bill Pullman) has been plugging away for years with minimal success. A former attorney, Barrett runs Chateau Montelena with his wayward son, Bo (Chris Pine, the Star Trek prequel’s Captain Kirk), who would rather do anything than assist his stern father. Bo’s co-workers include Gustavo (Six Feet Under’s Freddy Rodríguez) and Sam (Transformers’ Rachael Taylor), who long to produce the perfect chardonnay. Naturally, the young men compete for the favors of the beautiful blonde (the movie’s least interesting angle). Across the Atlantic, Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) struggles to keep his Parisian wine shop going (cheapskate American Dennis Farina is his only regular customer). Then Spurrier conceives a contest to attract customers; surely, his beloved French growers will put those upstart Yanks in their place. He flies to Napa to look around, and persuades the Barretts to compete. Miller and his wife, screenwriter Jody Savin, previously worked with Pullman and Rickman on Nobel Son, but decided to release Bottle Shock first. Though comparisons to Sideways will be inevitable, the filmmakers take more of a historical look at California wine country. The “Judgment of Paris” changed the face of the business forever, and they’ve found a lively way to recount the tale. –Kathleen C. Fennessy

Wine Tip #10 – How Many Types Of Wine Are There?

In 2006, there were approximately 45,000  different types of wine being produced in the world. Recently that number was increased to 75,000. Wow! That’s a lot of wine to try in one persons drinking life, even for a wino like me. If you’re new to wine you might be wondering how many types of wine there are. Basically, wine can be broken down into four categories: table wine, sparkling wine, fortified wine and sweet wine. Let’s quickly go through each one so you have an idea of their differences.

Table Wine -For the sake of simplicity, essentially all wines are considered table wines which include white, red and rosé wines. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, for example, in many European countries a table wine is considered to be of a lesser status then their quality wines. Take Italy for instance, a wine is considered a table wine when the vintner doesn’t produce their wine according to local regulations. These winemakers purposefully forgo the denominations of DOCG and DOC because they believe those regulations restrict their ability to make top notch wines. Which means, just because a wine in Italy displays those denominations on their labels and is considered higher quality wine because they follow the local regulations doesn’t guarantee the wine is of high quality. Many Italian wines that are considered table wines are some of the highest quality wines Italy produces. Tuscany is a great example of this.

So when you see the word “table wine” on a wine label don’t confuse it with cheap or read to much into it. Depending on where the wine comes from it could mean a few different things. Knowing what you know now you won’t judge the wine by it’s label and if it sounds good for heaven sake give it a try!

Sparkling Wine – Is exactly what it sounds like, wine that contains bubbles. Actually it is the carbon dioxide that makes the wine fizzy. The carbon dioxide is either infused or happens through natural fermentation. Most of us are familiar with white and rosé sparkling wines but make no mistake there are several yummy red sparkling wines available.  A sparkling wine can’t boast the name Champagne unless it was made in Champagne, France. Sparkling wine can be really dry or really sweet. Sparkling wine comes from a variety of different countries like Cava from Spain or Mousseux or Crémant refer to sparkling wine that was produced outside of Champagne, France.

Fortified Wine – also known as liqueur wine is wine that has a distilled beverage added to it, such as brandy. Fortified wines can be dry or sweet and are generally served in small amounts as digestifs.  Port, Vermouth and Sherry are all fortified wines you might love or have tried.

Sweet Wine or Dessert Wines - Ice wine is one of my favorite dessert wines. There are many techniques used to produce sweet wines. Generally they are served as an digestif.

So, while there are over 75,000 different wines being made across the world they can be broken down into four different types of wines.  Now you know for yourself so you can hold a conversation with a wine snob if need be and worst case scenario, just nod your head and agree, drink more and find a diversion!

A Perfect Glass of Wine

A Perfect Glass of Wine is an international guide to wine by Brian St. Pierre. This is one of my personal favorites and an easy read for the person who just wants to get more comfortable with wine. It is also loaded with some outstanding photography by Deborah Jones.

Pick it up today for your wine drinking pleasure. Click here to order.